The Odyssey is a legendary story that has been passed down for thousands of years and loved throughout many generations. Why has this been one story to prevail, when so many more have been lost through the years? What about this story makes people want to keep telling it?
I think the reason for The Odyssey’s success is that at some base level it speaks to something we all long for. This is an emotional story at its core- it’s a homecoming, and a very sentimental one at that. We, the readers, are introduced to Odysseus’ story, his intense and difficult journey home, and we identify with him despite the fact that none of could actually be in those fictional situations. We desperately want to see him get home, because we all know how satisfying it can be to come home after being away for a long time.
Campbell wrote that the reason we enjoy and long for these stories is because of the “collective unconscious”, or a part of the mind that contains elements or cognitive structures that have evolved over human history. We all have collective unconsciouses, and they cause us to gravitate towards narratives with certain fundamental elements. One of these structures that shows up across cultures is the hero’s journey.
In The Odyssey we are introduced to Odysseus when he is right in the middle of his journey - we don’t get to see his call to adventure or initial entering into the unknown, and this would be a very different (and much longer) narrative if we did. However, focusing on the latter half of Odysseus’ journey gives us the context we as readers require in order to relate to the character, as well as witness the satisfying climax of the story. We experience Odysseus’ taxing trials, see him weep and long for home, but eventually get to see him go home and reunite with his family. These are fundamental experiences that almost everyone can understand, which is why this story has stayed relevant despite being thousands of years old.
What The Odyssey has achieved by staying relevant years later is incredible - it seems familiar, yet it is so chronologically distant from us. It touches elements of our deep psyche and has penetrated many aspects of our culture. Most importantly, The Odyssey can inspire us in our everyday lives to succeed on our own quests, and never give up on our journeys home.
Great post, you did a really good job of connecting Campbell's theory of the collective unconsciousness to the Odyssey in your post. It's really interesting that even 2000 years later, this story still resonates with a lot of people's own experiences. I think you're right that maybe one of the reasons we still like the Odyssey is because it does make us want to go and succeed at our own "quests" both literally and figuratively.
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point about what the consumer of the story subconsciously craves--exciting action, yes, but also love of a partner and/or a family and the idea of home. This creates the perfect balance to let the audience satisfy their imagination and also relate to the characters--a theme you can find in a majority of hero-based stories.
ReplyDeleteWith this contemporary/domestic focus in mind, it's always struck me as odd that there's a popular family minivan named Odyssey. Is this *really* the story you want to use as a model for your family roadster--a tale about a guy whose trip is repeatedly delayed, hindered by suspicious and ill-behaved crew, where none of the passengers make it back alive and the "driver" himself has to rely on the kindness of strangers to get a ride home (after 20 years!) because the ship has been destroyed? "hey kids, wanna go on an Odyssey?" No, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a collective conscious is very compelling. Even in everyday life, we often experience the same feelings and abstract emotions beyond "happy" and "sad". Even though we all have had different experiences we can relate to things in a very similar way that is hard to describe in words. It makes sense that we would also all have some sort of fundamental developmental arc that we all strive to achieve in one way or another.
ReplyDelete